Chile Verde Pork
The best American name for this vegetable would probably be “Mexican green tomato”, but they actually taste nothing like regular tomatoes, In fact, the tomatillo is not a tomato at all. The tomatillo has a tart, lemony flavor that is enhance when cooked (especially roasted) and is an excellent base for salsas. While salsa (salsa verde) is the most popular way to enjoy tomatillo, they can be used in other ways. Tomatillos contain high amounts of vitamin A&C. Tomatillos are our #2 sales item!
Ingredients:
2 pounds lean pork loin or tenderloin
2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed and cut in half
5-6 Anaheim chiles, stemmed, seeded and cut in half (substitue with canned Ortego chiles)
5-6 poblano chiles, stemmed, seeded and cut in half
6 jalapeno chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
8-10 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp. pasilla powder
1-1/2 tsp. roasted cumin seed
1 tsp. oregano
2 cups chicken stock
Instructions:
The Meat:
1. Trim the fat from the pork and season with oregano, cumin, pasilla powder, white pepper, salt and half of the garlic. Mix together and rub the spices into the meat well. Note: If using a larger loin, cut it in half to keep cooking time within this recipe.
2. Place the pork into a baking dish with 1 cup of chicken stock. Cover and place into a preheated oven at 350F for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 300F and turn the meat over, cover and cook at least another hour. Check for tenderness. It should break apart easily with a fork at the end.
4. While the meat is cooking, make the chile verde sauce, below. Pour half of the finished verde sauce over the meat and cook for another 20 minutes.
Chile Verde Sauce:
1. Put the tomatillos into a baking dish, flat side down and roast them for about 10 minutes at 350F or until they start to brown. Set them aside and save the juices for the sauce.
2. Place the Anaheim and poblano chiles skin side up on a baking sheet, pressing them flat. Place the chiles under the broiler about 8″ below heat, until the skins start to blister and turn black. Remove the chiles from the heat and cover them with foil to sweat, which helps in removing their skins. When the chiles cool enough to handle, remove as much of the skins as possible.
3. Place all the chiles, tomatillos, garlic, onion and cilantro in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add 1 cup of chicken broth into the food processor gradually until the consistency is sauce-like. (Divide the ingredients into 2 batches if the processor is small.)
4. Put the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the puree and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not burn. Add some more chicken stock if needed to keep the mixture sauce-like. Place in a bowl to garnish the servings at the table.
Serving suggestions:
Break the meat into small pieces in the baking dish and mix with the sauce. Spoon onto a serving platter and cover with the remaining sauce from the baking dish. erve at the table with warm flour tortillas, black beans, rice and salad.
Recipe by Larry Noggle.